Hand-tooling a mug model vs. 3D-printing a mold to cast it

Tuesday 15th October 2019

I am creating molds for a 2019 casting-insight-live.com/glossary/49">jiggering project to reproduce heavy stoneware mugs manufactured here 50 years ago. I have a profile drawing I want to match (upper left). The solid plaster model on the left was my first attempt at manual tooling. The metal template was time-consuming to hand-make, its contour was difficult-to-match to the drawing and the plaster surface turned out rough and difficult-to-smooth. To make the plaster model on the right I printed a shell (using my 3D printer), poured the plaster in, extracted it after set and then smoothed it on the wheel using a metal rib and trimming tool. It matches the drawing perfectly and the round is very true. 3D-printing is revolutionary for this type of thing! The drawings: I hired someone on Upwork.com to make them for me (using Fusion 360). The shell-mold (to cast the model) on the upper right: I printed that too, in two pieces.

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

3D-Printing, Casting-Jiggering, 2019 Jiggering-Casting Project of Medalta 66 Mug

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